Changed Screens
by McGeeklover
Summary: What if McGee was the one to go to the pump storage facility. What if everything went wrong? Set in the episode 'Kill Screen" Tim-centric as always : . Please R&R like always.  I couldn't really think of a good title, but please give it a chance.
1. Chapter 1

Changed Screens

Chapter 1

McGee, Ziva and Tony are frantically looking for the mainframe in the pump storage facility while Gibbs is watching them from MTAC.

"Are you sure we're going the right way, McMap?" complained Tony.

"Yes, Tony, I'm sure. This GPS is kinda old, and it doesn't work very well, but we'll manage. So, stop complaining!"

"Both of you shut-up!" Gibbs stated into the microphone.

"Yes, Boss," the guys said in unison. Ziva laughed as they made their way in the maze.

Suddenly a large explosion went off, making everyone draw their guns and point it at the direction of the noise.

"Booby traps," McGee said as he breathed a sigh of relief and holstered his weapon.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Gibbs.

"Yeah, just peachy," Tony coughed as he and Ziva also put away their guns.

"The traps are all over the place, guys, so we have to take caution," McGee stated as he pointed to the GPS showing red dots in every different place.

The team runs around looking for the mainframe, seeing that their time is getting shorter and shorter every time they hit a dead end. The program was going to being in three minutes and McGee felt like they were just going in circles, not getting anywhere.

Finally, McGee was tired getting nowhere, and when they got to another dead end, McGee kicked down the wall, which suddenly set an alarm. He jumped, but kept going, Ziva and Tony following close behind.

"This is getting us no where, McGee, where are-" but his sentence was cut off when a door slammed shut and separated him and Ziva from McGee.

McGee jumped and looked up from the map. He turned around, noticing that Tony and Ziva weren't behind him and that a door was blocking them.

"Dammit," whispered McGee. "Tony! Tony, can you hear me?" he yelled

"Yeah, I can hear you, are you alright?" Questioned Tony.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm just gonna keep going, alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah okay, just leave us here then. We'll be fine stuck in the middle of nowhere," Tony responded in a sarcastic tone.

McGee rolled his eyes in annoyance as he turned to keep going. Suddenly steam sprays out on him and sparks start flying everywhere. McGee grunts and and spins around not able to see anything.

"McGee! What's going on?" Gibbs shouted into the microphone.

"It's nothing, Boss, just another booby-trap. I'm going to switch to video, I can barely see a thing."

McGee turned the video feed on so Gibbs could _try_ and direct him to the target. Alarms are going off everywhere, indicating another breached firewall. Dizziness was starting to set in as McGee was getting confused in the steam and alarms.

In about 2 minutes, McGee finally found the mainframe room. He glanced at all the computers and it's millions of wires.

"This may take awhile," muttered McGee to himself."

He noticed that the countdown was getting shorter. It was now at 00:57 seconds and he had hours of wires to look at. He groaned and started pulling them out.

All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion and the screen goes white. Gibbs can't see a thing. He gasps, going pale and hardly breathing. He heard McGee grunt and crash after the explosion, but he didn't hear anything after that. It was silent besides a ragged breathing noise coming from the other end.

"McGee! McGee can you hear me? Tim! What happened? Answer me, McGee! Tim!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gibbs watched as he was becoming frantic. Nothing. Suddenly, he heard a groan and a gasp. The next thing Gibbs heard was heart-stopping. A frenzy of shots were heard through the microphone. Gibbs was concerned at was going on. It quieted for a moment, then one single shot rang out one last time. Gibbs thought of the worst. His agent could have been gunned down and was now dead. That last shot could have been one last bullet to make sure he wasn't still hanging on barely; that he was completely dead.

"Tim!" Gibbs shouted once more, only to be greeted by some silence, groaning, and some coughing. Gibbs couldn't take it anymore. Discarding the microphone, he bolted out of MTAC and downstairs and to the car.

Gibbs took out his phone and called the fire department and an ambulance. He had a gut feeling that he was definitely going to need them. The car screeched to halt and Gibbs jumped out, the fire department and EMT's not far behind. After 5 minutes of running around, Gibbs found Tony and Ziva sitting by a closed door, talking.

Tony was the first one to notice Gibbs. "Oh, hey Boss! Finally come to free us from our doom?"

"Can it, DiNozzo," said Gibbs in annoyance. He turned towards the hallway opening and saw the rescue crew come running in.

"Boss, you didn't have to call an ambulance; we're fine," said Tony, worry growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Can you break through this door?" Gibbs asked one of the firemen. One stepped up and examined the door for a minute then faced Gibbs.

"It's going to take about three hours, sir, so just hold on and-"

"We don't have three hours! We have 10 minutes, maybe less! My agent could be hurt, maybe dying in 3 minutes! So figure a way to open the damn door!" Gibbs shouted angrily.

The smile on Tony's face dropped and looked at Gibbs with a pale face.

"Boss what happened? Did something happen to McGee?"

Gibbs didn't answer him. Instead he helped the firemen break down the door. In a matter of three minutes, the door was busted open and Gibbs was the first one through. He frantically ran through the halls looking for his missing agent. He suddenly saw smoke and knew that was where McGee was.

"Gibbs! What happened? Where are you going?" yelled Ziva as she and Tony shared concerned glances at each other. They followed Gibbs until they reached a smoky room.

Gibbs squinted through the clouded air and called McGee's name. Finally, he found a dark form laying completely still by the side wall; instantly he knew it was Tim. He ran over and dropped next to him. Gibbs gasped when he saw the condition of his youngest agent. There were cuts on his face, blood was running down from his temple, his arm looked a bit twisted and a metal shard had lodged itself into McGee's side

"Oh, no...Tim," Gibbs sighed as he rolled McGee over to his back.

At that, McGee groaned and coughed. His eyes fluttered open and looked around, disoriented.

"B-boss?" McGee said weakly.

"I'm here, Tim, just stay awake until the paramedics come, okay? You're gonna be alright."

"I-I'm sorry b-boss. I screwed up. I-I managed to stop-" but before he could finish, McGee went into a coughing fit. He couldn't stop and he was losing air. All of a sudden, his coughing stopped; along with his breathing.

"Tim! McGee, get back here, I don't give you permission to die!" yelled Gibbs as he began CPR.

Tony and Ziva just watching in horror as they saw their friend struggling to breath, then just die all at once. Ziva was close to tears, while Tony was just about to break down.

Just when they thought it was over for McGee, the paramedics came rushing in, pushing Gibbs out of the way and getting the paddles.

"It's about time you got here," said Gibbs in a crass and annoyed voice. They should have been right behind him and then maybe his agent would already be in the ambulance by now. Alive.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Clear!" yelled one EMT as he shocked Tim's heart. The portable heart monitor stayed the same dull and steady tone.

"Nothing." Charge it to 260!" the EMT yelled. Again, Tim's body jerked up with the shock, and again, nothing changed.

"One more, charge it to 300!" Once more when Tim's lifeless body jerked, the heart monitor began beeping. He was alive. Everyone let go a breath they didn't realize they were holding.

"He's going to be okay, sir." said one EMT as they lifted McGee onto the stretcher and assembled an oxygen mask to his face.

They strapped him on and wheeled him out of the smoky room and out of the facility and into fresh air. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva followed the paramedic to the ambulance and watched as McGee was loaded inside.

"Wait, I'm coming with you." said Gibbs as he stepped into the back of the vehicle with the medics. Once everything was set and ready, Gibbs told Tony and Ziva to go back to HQ and tell Ducky, Abby and the Director what happened; then to drive Abby and Ducky to the hospital. Tony nodded, still haven't said a word, and ran to the car with Ziva. Gibbs slammed the back doors shut, and the ambulance wailed, racing to the hospital to save Tim's life.

The ride was bumpy, but Gibbs didn't really care. He was too busy concentrating on his sick agent. The way he looked was crap. The bright green eyes were dull, as McGee sleepily looked around. The pale face with dark rings around his eyes underneath and an oxygen mask that was keeping him alive, was a different person. He couldn't stand the pained look on Tim's face. Gibbs gently took Tim's cold hand in his own and held it tight, not wanting to let go until he knew he was okay. Gibbs sighed; this was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On the drive back to NCIS, Tony, for once, was speechless. His face had paled even more since he saw the paramedics and Gibbs yelling at them to hurry. Ziva kept glancing at him with a concerned look on her face. Finally, she couldn't stand the silence and she said something.

" Hey, Tony. Are you alright?"

Silence.

"Tony!"

He finally glanced at her and then put his eyes back on the road. "Yeah I'm fine, I'm just...worried. Seeing McGee that way knocked the wind right out of me. I mean, it should have been me. Tim never gets hurt, it's either me, you, or Gibbs. If I would have bullied him into...into" He stopped to take a breath and he looked at Ziva again. She was concentrating hard on him, her eyes starting to get misty.

"All I'm saying, it shoulda been me, not McGee. He's been through enough already."

Ziva nodded and put a hand on his arm. Tony gave her a weak smile and kept driving until they reached the Yard and told Ducky and Abby the news.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" cried Abby as she sank down into a chair.

"Abigail, please calm down. McGee will be alright." Ducky said calmly.

"How do you know? You haven't seen him! Timmy is hurt and we need to go see him right now!"

"We are, as soon as Tony and Ziva finish telling the director what happened." Ducky said as she squeezed Abby's arm gently.

Abby's watery eyes looked at Ducky and sighed as she nodded. Five minutes later, the team was on their way to the hospital. Everyone silent except for Abby's quiet sniffling.

Once they finally reached the hospital and got inside, they met Gibbs in the Emergency Waiting Room.

"Have you heard anything?" asked a very worried Abby.

"Not yet. I've only been here for about ten minutes, though." stated Gibbs as he hugged Abby.

"How did he look the last time you saw him?" Ducky asked

Gibbs motioned to Ducky, not wanting to tell Abby how bad the case was.

"The last time I saw him was in the ambulance, but when I saw him in the storage facility, injured on the ground... it was horrible. There was this...this metal shard sticking out from his side. I don't know how deep it was in, but it was deep enough to make him lose blood. His head was also bleeding, so we can expect a concussion, and I guess some smoke and dust got into his lungs, so he's having trouble breathing."

"I'm sure Timothy will be fine Jethro. He's tough." Ducky replied.

"Ducky, he died right in front of me. I know McGee is tough, because when he was getting loaded onto the gurney, I remembered the firewall program. I looked at the computers and I saw that there were bullet holes in them all of them. Then I realized why I heard gunshots over MTAC. McGee shot the computers to stop the program from starting. Even though he was hurt, he put his job before his welfare and save the Pentagon."

Ducky sighed and nodded, then they both made their way back to the group and waited for news. They just wish they would know sooner.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was hours before they heard anything on McGee's condition. By then everyone was becoming restless. Tony was pacing, Ziva's foot was tapping uncontrollably, Abby kept biting her lip while wringing her wrists, Ducky kept going up to the nurse's desk to see if there was any information. The only one who was calm, was Gibbs; he sat in the chair, watching everyone, watching the door where a doctor should come out and just thinking; thinking about what had happened in the last five hours.

"Where is the doctor! You'd think he'd be done by now with five other doctors helping him!" grumbled Tony.

Gibbs smirked at DiNozzo's comment. Suddenly, the double doors opened and revealed a young doctor in blue scrubs. He was heading straight for them, and Gibbs was the first to get up. When Tony noticed Gibbs moving, he saw the doctor and he jumped off the seat and followed Gibbs. Soon, everyone saw the doctor and got up; worried at what they might learn about the condition of their friend.

"Are you all here for a Timothy McGee?" asked the doctor.

"Yes," everyone said together.

"Okay. My name Dr. Hamilton, Tim's aiding doctor. As some of you may know, Tim suffered some major injuries. The metal shard that lodged into his side, nicked his spleen, though he lost a lot a blood. He also has a sprained wrist and a mild concussion."

The team thought he was done, but when he continued, they paled even more.

"One last thing...um...the dust and smoke he inhaled during the explosion got trapped in his lungs. It's worse, because he was in the room for a while. He's developed a cough and it should go away within a week. We are going to monitor his breathing in case the coughing is a sign of something else we may have missed. He's in ICU right now getting a post-surgery check then will be moved to a private room in five minutes. I'll be back in that time to lead you to his room."

"Thanks," came a short reply from Gibbs.

The doctor nodded and turned to disappear behind the double doors. The team breathed a sigh of relief. McGee's condition wasn't too bad, he was going to survive, but they were worried on how he would look when they finally saw him. They hoped it wasn't to bad.

Five minutes later, Dr. Hamilton came back and had the team follow him to Tim's room. Every step of the way, everyone was nervous, scared of seeing McGee. What if his appearance was bad; so bad that it made Abby cry even harder, Tony and Ziva eyes start to water, Gibbs about to lose all his willpower and sink to the floor.

When they finally got to the room, the doctor opened the door, and directed them in. They gasped as they took in Tim's appearance. He had bruises and lacerations on his face, a sling on his sprained arm, and a bandage around his midriff.

"You can only be here for visiting hours, then you'll have to leave. If he starts to have a coughing fit, the oxygen mask is hanging on a hook beside him. Gibbs nodded and Dr. Hamilton left once more.

Abby walked over to Tim's side and took his good hand in hers.

"His hand is cold, Gibbs," Abby whispered, not taking her eyes off McGee.

"He'll be okay Abs, McGee is tough," assured Gibbs.

"Yeah, I know he is. I just hope he can fight this." Abby replied.

"He will, Abs, and when he wants to wake up he'll wake up," Tony said.

All of a sudden McGee coughed and his forehead scrunched up. Abby gasped and she jumped a little. Gibbs put a hand on Abby's shoulder. And squeezed it.

"We should let him rest, Abs, just like you should. You can come back tomorrow."

Abby nodded and let Ducky lead her out and bring her home. She just hoped he would still be alive when she came back.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Abby and Ducky left, Ziva and Tony went to get something to eat at the cafeteria, leaving Gibbs alone with a sleeping McGee. He sat down in a cheap, cold plastic chair besides McGee and close to the oxygen mask in case Tim needed it.

"You did a good job, McGee. You didn't screw up. I saw that you stopped the program from starting...by shooting it. That was a good idea, Tim, good thinking. I probably would've done the same thing," Gibbs chuckled but then went silent as he examined McGee again. He coughed a couple more times, alarming Gibbs, but it wasn't a fit. He smoothed out Tim's hair until it was straight.

Suddenly McGee's eye's fluttered and groaned as he tried to see where he was.

"Tim, stay calm," said Gibbs and he put a gentle hand on Tim's shoulder. "You're in a hospital."

"B-boss?" coughed Tim.

"Who else would it be?" chuckled Gibbs.

McGee smiled and closed his eyes again. Without opening them, he asked another question.

"W-what happened? I don't really remember."

"You were in the storage facility, trying to shutdown the countdown before a program started. A booby-trap exploded and you were really close to it. You were injured pretty badly." explained Gibbs.

"And this *cough cough* cough?"

"You're going to have it for while; the doctors are going to monitor you in case it's something else."

McGee nodded and opened his eyes to look at his Boss. "Who found me?"

"I did, McGee. You didn't think I would let you die in there, did you?" smiled Gibbs.

"No...I know you wouldn't, thanks, Boss" laughed Tim, but stopped suddenly when he began coughing. But, all of a sudden, he couldn't cease. His eyes were wide with terror as his face turned red and his lips were turning blue. Alarmed, Gibbs jumped up and grabbed the oxygen mask, strapping it on McGee's face. In a few seconds, McGee's coughing quieted down, then stopped. He breathed heavily to regain oxygen. When he did, he looked at Gibbs.

"Thanks," came a muffled response and a weak smile.

Gibbs smiled back and nodded his head. But before he could do anything else, McGee suddenly resumed coughing, to make matters worse, he started to cough up blood and it splattered onto the inside of the mask. Gibbs looked at Tim in horror, only knowing one thing to do. He slammed his hand on the call button and held it for a minute. Then he looked at McGee with a concerned face as he kept coughing.

"Just hold on, McGee, you're gonna be alright. Just hold on," Gibbs encouraged. What happened?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Just as soon as the nurse saw what was happening, she gasped and ran to find Dr. Hamilton. As soon as she left, Tony came in but his mouth fell open when he saw the scene. He suddenly was pushed out of the way by a bunch of doctors, yelling medical terms he, nor Gibbs, could understand. In a matter of seconds, Tim was wheeled out of his room and into surgery.

Tony and Gibbs stood still, too shocked to say a thing. Finally, Tony broke the silence.

"Boss, what-what happened to McGee?"

There was silence for a minute, then Gibbs spoke.

"McGee woke up and we talked, then he went into a coughing fit. I gave him the oxygen mask and he quieted for a moment, but then he started coughing again, only this time, blood was coming out. He couldn't breathe, so I hit the call button, and you saw the rest," said Gibbs tiredly.

For once, Tony was lost for words. He didn't have a joke or a snide remark. Nothing.

"You gonna be okay, Boss?" asked Tony.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine. You?"

"Yeah, well. I will be when I know that McGee's okay." replied Tony.

"Yeah me too." Gibbs agreed. "Me too." Gibbs looked around for something, "Where's Ziva?" he asked.

"She went home to shower and rest for a couple hours. She'll be back soon." explained Tony.

Gibbs nodded as he sat down and rubbed his face in exhaustion.

Gibbs called Ducky and Abby back to the hospital, and again, they waited for hours. Again they became restless. The only good part was that they didn't have to wait in a depressing waiting room. Instead they waited in McGee's hospital room.

Another minute felt like a hour; another hour felt like another day. They all wished that answers would come to them soon. Their wish came true at 9:00 pm, when the doctor came in with a tired look on his face. Tony, this time, was the first to get up.

"Is McGee going to be okay? What happened!" Tony asked eagerly.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down and I'll tell you." replied the doctor.

Gibbs smiled and put a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder and made him sit down.

"Now, Tim had gotten a severe coughing fit and we saw that the coughing caused a tear in his lung that was there before and was missed. We don't know how we missed it, but it's fixed now and he's breathing on his own."

Everyone sighed and knew that it wasn't bad.

"Thanks, Dr. Hamilton," replied Gibbs.

Tony smiled weakly as he looked down to the ground. His friend was okay and he was gonna live. McGee was going to live.

"Right now he's in the ICU but you can have a ten minute visit. After that, he has to rest for at least 24 hours. I'll let you know when he will be moved back to his room."

The team followed the doctor once again into the ICU area and into Tim's room. He looked worse. And by worse, he was paler. There were spots of dry blood on his lips. Even though he looked this way, he was sleeping peacefully. An occasional cough came up, worrying the team, especially Gibbs, but Hamilton assured him that it was nothing to worry about and it would be gone soon.

While Gibbs took a crying Abby and a silent Ducky to the cafeteria for something to eat, while Tony was left with McGee.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"How you doing, McGeek?" Tony asked McGee. He knew he wouldn't answer, but he hoped that he stood could hear him.

"From my point of view, you look like crap," he chuckled, but it quickly died down. "It's quiet at NCIS without you, usually you're complaining about something, or talking about your horoscope, or some technical stuff that I'll never understand. But, now that you're here..." Tony trailed off. " We all miss you McGee, and we hope you get better soon. I need you, because Boss is killing me with paperwork and I have no idea how to work the computers like you, so I'm messing everything up. Gibbs almost shot the computer, actually! It was pretty funny, you shoulda been there..." Tony went quiet as he watched McGee breath, start to cough, then breath again. Tony sighed sadly and put his hand on top of McGee's. It was warmer than when Abby said it was cold. He was making progress.

As to react to touch, McGee stirred, making Tony snap out of his thoughts.

"McGee? Are you awake?" Tony said eagerly, hoping that McGee was finally getting up.

"Hmm? T-tony?" mumbled McGee without opening his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me buddy," Tony answered.

McGee slowly opened his dull, green eyes and looked around. "Where am I?"

"The hospital, do you remember the explosion?"

Tim nodded.

"Well you got here two days ago and you were fine until-"

McGee looked at him eagerly, wanting him to say more. "Until, what?" he urged.

"Until you started coughing uncontrollably and got a bleed in you lungs. You're okay, now, but you will still have that cough for a while, but that's it." Tony smiled.

McGee nodded and smiled back. He sighed, suddenly divulging a slight cough. "Could I have...water? Please?"

"Of course, McSickly," said Tony as he went to the bathroom to get a cup.

McGee laughed softly at the usual "Mc" names that Tony always made up.

When Tony got back with the water, he gave it to McGee.

"Could you help? My fingers aren't working very well right now." blushed McGee.

Tony held the cup tightly as McGee drank slowly.

"Thanks," he said sleepily as he laid back down and closed his eyes. "And by the way, I don't blame you for what happened. Don't sleep on it...please. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I didn't see the booby-trap, because I was too busy stopping the countdown. It had to be me, because I'm the only one who knew what to do."

Silence.

"Ziva told me, or I heard her say it"

"Oh," Tony said. "Well, thanks, Tim, for that. I needed to make sure, because I felt a bit guilty about the incident."

"Don't be," McGee replied.

"Okay, I won't," Tony smiled.

Silence.

"You should get some rest, McSleepy, you really need it."

Tim's brow raised, his eyes remaining closed, and he said, " Because I look like crap?"

Tony scoffed and then laughed, "You- you heard that?"

Tim didn't say anything, instead he smiled weakly, then it disappeared when he fell into another deep sleep.

Tony smiled as he squeezed Tim's hand and pulled the covers over his chest. Everything was _finally_ alright.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next day, a surprise came to visit him. It was Maxine. Tony had told him that he'd set up a date with her for him, but it was canceled because of what happened. He was disappointed.

Maxine walked in quietly as she took in Tim's condition. He didn't look to bad; he looked better then when Tony described how he looked after the explosion. She smiled as she heard him snore quietly. Walking to the side of his bed, she sat down in the plastic hospital chair and took his hand in hers. He suddenly stirred at the soft touch. He opened his eyes; it was blurry at first but everything soon became slightly clear. He turned his head to look at here; he focused on her blue eyes to make everything stop going out of focus.

"Maxine?"

"Hey," she smiled.

McGee smiled back at her and said, "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, and sore, but I'm getting better."

"That's good, Tim."

"How are you?" he asked

"I'm good... a little disappointed that we missed the date."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be; it's not you fault. You saved the Pentagon, you saved me."

Tim smiled at her and took her hand. "Rain check? After I get out of here, you wanna go..."

"On a date?" Maxine finished for him.

"Yeah...Would you?"

"Of course, Tim." she replied excitedly. Tim smiled gratefully at her.

"Laser tag?"

"Of course! I'll call you when I leave and feeling better." replied McGee.

"Okay, Tim, I'll see you later, then. Bye," she kissed him on the cheek, then hesitated, then kissed him on the lips. They held it there for what seemed like minutes. When they pulled apart, McGee had a silly smile across his face and Maxine smiled back.

"Bye," he said dreamily. "I'll see you soon." Maxine nodded and turned to leave.

"Wow."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next few days were boring for Tim. All he did was lie in bed; an occasional visitor or two would come in and check on him and maybe talk to him for a while. It was either Abby and Gibbs or Tony and Ziva, sometimes even Ducky. But when Gibbs told him he was going to be discharged the next morning, he was delighted. He finally could leave, even though he still was pale and the cuts were still showing. There was a bruise just below his temple from where he hit his head. His arm was in a wrap and a small patch was put over the stab wound.

"You feelin' better, McGee?" asked Tony as helped Gibbs walk Tim to the car.

"Yeah, I'm just sore," McGee replied as he winced. The strain of walking was exhausting him and as soon he was put in the back seat, he dozed off. Gibbs and Tony smiled; it was ironic how tired McGee was when he practically slept the whole time he was in the hospital.

"McGee! Tim, wake up. We are at your apartment," Gibbs whispered loudly as he gently shook McGee awake.

"What?" slurred Tim.

"You are at home, its time to wake up."

McGee eyes opened slowly and looked around, then out the window. Sure enough, they were at his apartment. He let out a deep breath and opened the door. Tony and Gibbs got out as well and helped him with his stuff.

When they got upstairs, McGee reached for his stuff. "Thanks you guys, for watching out for me, I mean," he said.

Gibbs took the bags out of McGee's reach. "We're not going anywhere for a while, McGee. We'll help you settle in, okay?"

"Okay, Boss...thanks." With that, McGee opened his door.

"SURPRISE!" yelled a crowd. McGee jumped ten feet in the air, his heart racing. He smiled as he saw Ziva, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy and many others in his living room, with a banner saying "welcome back, Tim." He really didn't want to know how his apartment was opened, but he brushed it off. Everyone came to him and hugged him gently; even Abby's usual bone-breaking hug was gentler. After everyone hugged him and welcomed him back, he went to go get a drink

All of a sudden, in the crowd, he saw Maxine, looking at him with a vibrant smile. He smiled at her and went straight for her.

"Hey!" Tim said as they hugged each other.

"Your team invited me, and this was another chance to see you." she said happily. "So are you feeling better?"

"Much," replied McGee.

"Good."

"So, you want to do that Rain Check?" asked Tim.

"Of course. When?"

"How does tonight sound? 8:00."

"Perfect," Maxine said as she smiled and pulled him into kiss. When they pulled apart, they just stood there and looked at each other, smiling, for about 5 minutes until Tony came in and ruined the mood.

The party lasted about two hours until McGee started to wane and everyone was starting to leave. Maxine was the last of the guest to leave, saying that she would see him at 8:00. They shared a quick kiss and then she left. Tony, Ziva and Gibbs were the only ones left.

"You got yourself a keeper, McHoroscope. Aren't you glad I hooked you guys up?"

"Yes, Tony, thanks," yawned McGee as he trudged to his room. He got undressed into sweats, then climbed into bed. In a matter of seconds, he fell asleep. When Gibbs and Ziva came back from dismissing the guest, Gibbs looked for McGee.

"Tony, where's Tim?"

"He's sleeping, Boss. He wicked tired... and he's also got a date later tonight, so he has to be on top of his game; he's playing laser tag."

"I'll never understood the shooting people with plastic guns, when you could just shoot them real ones," Ziva remarked. Gibbs smiled slightly at this comment

"Well you could, unless you would want to be charged for murder."

"Oh, I did not think about that."

"So, you said Tim was sleeping?" Gibbs asked.

"Yep. As soon as his face touched the pillow, he was out like a light."

"Good, he needs it. So who's going to stay here today? Tim's doctor said he needs to have sick leave for at least a week, maybe less depending on his condition, before he goes back to work."

"I will, Boss." Tony said. "Anyways, I need to give him a few tips about dating, and that's something that you guys are not very good at."

Gibbs and Ziva glared at him and Tony cringed. "Sorry," apologized Tony. Ziva shook her head and went to Tim's room, giving him a peck on the cheek. She whispered something in Hebrew, then she turned to leave, barring farewell to Gibbs and Tony. Gibbs also went into McGee's room and squeezed Tim's limp hand. "Get some rest, Tim. I'll see you tomorrow." He turned to Tony and patted him on the shoulder. "See you later, Tony." Tony nodded an then shut the door behind Gibbs.

He walked into McGee's room and pulled the covers over his shoulders. When Tony was sure he was comfortable, he sat in a chair in front of the plasma and watched T.V. He could wait until. McGee woke up, so he could bombard him with dating advice. Everything was finally back to normal once again.

**FIN**

So what did you think? Please review :) THKS!


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